Funds are requested to provide partial support for a symposium entitled "Ovarian Function" and a "Forum for Contentious Topics in Reproductive Biology", to be presented at the 26th annual Meeting of the Society for the Study of Reproduction. The meeting will be held at Colorado State University, in Ft. Collins, Colorado on August 1-4, 1993. Topics for presentation at the symposium were selected for their timely interest and to achieve an integrated overview of the current status of our understanding of ovarian function in mammals. The invited speakers are internationally-recognized experts in the field. Dr. Joanne Fortune will discuss follicular development and function, including differentiation, growth, steroid secretion, selection of ovulatory follicles and intrafollicular processes which affect the subsequent viability of the oocyte/embryo. Dr. Lawrence Espey will examine the ovulatory process, summarizing more than a decade of work stimulated by his classic paper comparing ovulation to an inflammatory reaction. Dr. Gordon Niswender will address the development, maintenance function and regression of the corpus luteum. Proceedings of the symposium will be published in Biology of Reproduction. The forum for contentious topics is a new approach for the Society, suggested by Dr. Roy Hammerstedt in response to a growing perception that constructive critical discussion of data has declined at meetings of this and other societies in recent years. Four topic areas will be addressed simultaneously during a two- hour session. The format, designed to encourage collegial disagreement, will utilize a senior and secure person as moderator, four speakers assigned controversial points to present (as in a debate, going beyond personal convictions) in 15 to 20 minutes, several invited discussants to keep discussion centered and moving, and fully open discussion from participants. As in a Gordon Conference, nothing will be quotable or published.